Happy New Year!

A strange greeting in November! While the secular world approaches the month ahead as the end of the year, we as Christians struggle to celebrate a new liturgical year with the beginning of Advent. The Church invites us to look again at the Jesus story as it unfolds in the Scriptures, liturgical seasons, and the events that will affect and shape our individual and collective lives in the year ahead. We are part of an ever spiraling event, caught in the rhythm of time—yesterday, today and tomorrow—ever spinning forward, ever creating, ever becoming the kingdom of God. We struggle to celebrate a season that seems to be out of sync with the secular world that constantly reminds us of how many shop- ping days there are left ‘til Christmas.